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Balzac and the little Chinese seamstress (Balzac et la petite tailleuse chinoise)

Threat advisory: Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

A tailor-made love story.

Two teenage best friends, Luo (Kun Chen) and Ma (Ye Liu), are sent to a far-flung outpost for Maoist "re-education". Sons of "reactionary intellectuals", the boys keep their spirits up after arduous work in the fields by telling each other stories. Upon meeting the beautiful daughter of the local renowned tailor, they both instantly fall in love with her. So when they come across a secret hidden stash of "subversive" books - by Flaubert, Tolstoy, Hugo and the most compelling of all, Balzac - their courtship with the Little Seamstress (Xun Zhou) includes entrancing her with stories of the classics of European literature.

But as she begins to learn more about the world around her, the Little Seamstress and the village itself begins to change and the boys realise that by expanding her horizons they may actually lose the girl they love.

Theatrical propaganda posters

+ theatrical one sheet image

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

  • Film China drama Communism literature repression

Persons of interest

  • Xun Zhou .... Little Chinese Seamstress
  • Kun Chen .... Luo
  • Ye Liu .... Ma
  • Shuangbao Wang .... Village Head
  • Zhijun Cong .... Old Tailor
  • Hong Wei Wang .... Four Eyes
  • Sijie Dai .... Author
  • Nadine Perront .... Screenwriter
  • Sijie Dai .... Screenwriter
  • Sijie Dai .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Oh, it's good.

Media intelligence (DVD)

  • Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound
  • Picture: Widescreen 16:9
  • Special features:
    • Biographies: Cast and crew

Security censorship classification

M (Adult themes, low level sex scene)

Surveillance time

111 minutes (1:51 hours)

Not for public release in Australia before date

Film: 29 May 2003
DVD rental: 29 October 2003
VHS rental: 29 October 2003

Cinema surveillance images

Balzac and the little Chinese seamstress image

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